1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk apparatus, and in particular to a disk apparatus which transports a disk for recording or reproducing information thereon into a main body of the disk apparatus during a transition from an unloaded state to a loaded state, the disk being accommodated in a cartridge.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional disk apparatus is known from Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 9-91821, for example. Hereinafter, this conventional disk apparatus will be described with reference to the accompanying figures.
FIG. 8 is an upper plan view illustrating a portion of the conventional disk apparatus 800. The disk apparatus 800 generally includes a main body 51 and a tray 52. The tray 52 transports a cartridge 54, in which a disk 53 is accommodated, in a direction T (hereinafter referred to as the xe2x80x9ctransportation directionxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cinsertion directionxe2x80x9d) with respect to the disk apparatus main body 51, causing the cartridge 54 to shift from an unloaded state to a loaded state. The tray 52 can also transport the cartridge 54 in a direction Txe2x80x2 opposite to the transportation or insertion direction T causing the cartridge 54 to shift from a loaded state to an unloaded state. The cartridge 54 has a shutter 55 which can be opened so as to expose the disk 53. FIG. 8 illustrates an unloaded state of the cartridge 54, i.e., the tray 52 being outside the disk apparatus main body 51.
Hereinafter, the structure of the disk apparatus 800 will be described in more detail, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 9 is a side view of a portion of the disk apparatus 800, showing a cross section of the tray 52 along line IXxe2x80x94IX in FIG. 8 and a perspective view of the main body 51 as observed from direction D in FIG. 8.
The main body 51 includes a roof 57. The roof 57 supports a clamp arm 58 and an opener 61. The clamp arm 58 supports a clamper 60 in a pivotable manner. The clamper 60 is driven by the clamp arm 58 so as to pressurize the disk 53 against a disk motor 67 of the disk apparatus main body 51. The clamp arm 58 further includes a clamp arm spring 59, which biases the clamp arm 58 so as to restore its original position.
The opener 61, which is a means for opening and assisting the closing of the shutter 55 of the cartridge 54, is pivotably supported around a mounting/pivoting axis 63 for the opener 61. The opener 61 includes an opener spring 62, which is supported between a spring hooking member 64 projecting from a spring hooking aperture 65 and a spring hook 66 mounted on the roof 57. The opener spring 62 provides a force which brings back the opener 61 to a predetermined position. At some point during the transportation of the cartridge 54 into the disk apparatus main body 51, the shutter 55 abuts against a leading edge of the opener 61, so that a pressurizing force from the opener 61 causes the shutter 55 to slide in a slide direction S. As a result of this slide operation, the shutter 55 opens so as to expose the disk 53 which is accommodated within the cartridge 54.
The disk apparatus main body 51 further includes a motor support base 68. The motor support base 68 supports the disk motor 67, a positioning pin 69, a cartridge support pin 70, and the like. As shown in FIG. 9, the motor support base 68 is tilted (i.e., not in the direction T) in an unloaded state of the cartridge 54, thereby clearing the way for the cartridge 54 to be inserted. Once the cartridge 54 is loaded, the motor support base 68 approaches the cartridge 54 so as to be no longer tilted but instead be in plane with the direction T, preferably horizontal. The positioning pin 69 engages with a positioning hole 56 in the cartridge 54 which has been transported into the disk apparatus main body 51, thereby restricting the positioning of the cartridge 54 along the horizontal and height directions. The cartridge support pin 70 also serves to position the cartridge 54 along the height direction.
FIG. 10A is an upper plan view similar to FIG. 8, illustrating an intermediate state between the unloaded state shown in FIG. 8 and a loaded state of the cartridge 54. FIG. 10B is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 10A, showing how the shutter 55 and the opener 61 contact each other. As illustrated in FIG. 10B, a pressurizing force which is received by the shutter 55 from the opener 61 as the shutter 55 begins to open is resolved into two component forces: an opening force d which acts to open the shutter 55 and a component force e which acts in such a direction as to dispel the cartridge 54 out of the disk apparatus main body 51. Since the component force e is greater than the opening force d, the shutter 55 will be strongly pressurized against the body of the cartridge 54. As a result, the opening operation of the shutter 55 entails a large loading force, creating a large burden on the cartridge transportation. For similar reasons, the shutter 55 and the body of the cartridge 54 may act to abrade each other, ultimately making it difficult to open or close the shutter 55.
According to the present invention, there is provided a disk apparatus to which a cartridge accommodating a disk for recording or reproducing information thereon is loaded, the cartridge having a shutter capable of opening so as to expose the disk, the disk apparatus including: a disk transporting section for transporting the cartridge from an unloaded position to a loaded position; and an opener for opening the shutter in a slide direction which is perpendicular to a transportation direction of the cartridge, wherein a leading end face of the cartridge in the transportation direction of the cartridge has a first end face and a second end face, the first end face extending in the transportation direction and the second end face extending in the slide direction, wherein the shutter is opened responsive to a pressurizing force applied in the slide direction to the first end face from the opener, and wherein the opener applies a pressure to the first end face, but does not substantially apply a pressure to the second end face, during substantially a first half of an opening operation of the shutter.
In one embodiment of the invention, the opener is in contact with the first end face but is not in contact with the second end face during substantially the first half of the opening operation of the shutter.
In another embodiment of the invention, the disk transportation section includes a pressurization member provided in a position located ahead of the cartridge along the transportation direction, the pressurization member being arranged so as to engage with the opener during substantially the first half of the opening operation of the shutter.
In still another embodiment of the invention, a distance between the second end face and a point of contact between the pressurization member and the opener is greater than a distance between the point of contact and a point on an edge of the opener that comes closest to the cartridge.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the opener and the pressurization member are arranged so as to be in contact with each other during substantially the first half of the opening operation of the shutter and not during substantially a latter half of the opening operation of the shutter.
Thus, the invention described herein makes possible the advantage of providing a disk apparatus which can reduce the loading force during an opening operation of a shutter of a cartridge.